C. Boi Owusu & Anor V. Manch of Labadi (1933)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Rival claims to compensation under the Public Lands Ordinance between a Stool and two of its subjects—Proof of long and uninterruped user of some Stool land by those subjects—Such user not sufficient by itself to oust the Stool’s title.

Facts

The appellants, who are subjects of the Labadi Stool, proved that they and their ancestors had been in possession of the land acquired by Government for at least four generations, and that their ancestor who first took possession of the land sound it unoccupied. On these grounds they contended that the land in question had become their private property. They also sought to prove certain acts of ownership on the part of their ancestors and themselves, but failed.

The respondent, on the other hand, proved that the Labadi people had originally acquired a large area of land, including the land in question, by conquest, and that many subjects of the Labadi Stool had settled on the area so acquired. On these grounds he contended that the appellants were merely enjoying the use of Stool land in accordance with native custom, and that their long and uninterrupted neer had not ousted the original title of the Stool.

Held

That long and uninterrupted user of land by subjects of Stool is not, in itself, sufficient to oust the title of the Stool.

The appeal is dismissed.